Louise Bailey

Healthcare Issue: Keeping patient’s identity private.

Setting: Phoenix Cardiac Surgery

Position Statement

ProsPhysicians have an obligation to safeguard patient’s information within their information data base systems.ConsPhysicians posted clinical and surgical appointment for its patients on an internet-based calendar that was publicly accessible.

Applicable Laws

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) called for the establishment of standards and requirements for transmitting

certain health information to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care

system while protecting patient privacy.

Specific Regulations

Title IV is a safeguard ensuring the protection of privacy for your medical information. Along with federally ensuring your privacy, the HIPAA law is intended to lead to reduced fraudulent activity

and improved data systems.

Case Precedents

Pros: Phoenix Cardiac Surgery has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a $100,000 settlement and take corrective action to implement policies and procedures to safeguard the protected health information of its patients.

Cons:Phoenix Cardiac Surgery the physician practice was posting clinical and surgical appointments for its patients on an Internet-based calendar that was publicly accessible.

Applicable Industry Standards

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191, included Administrative Simplification provisions that required HHS to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers, and security.

Evidence Based Research

Pros:The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 has focused attention on major reforms.

Cons:A recent study of consumers' attitudes toward health care found that there is a “disconnect between the central tenets of evidence-based health care and the knowledge, values, and beliefs held by many consumers.

Recommendation

It is my recommendation for the Phoenix cardiac surgery to follow the HIPAA law within their organization such as getting consent from patient before providing confidential information like appointments on the internet based systems for everyone to see. This will prevent further settlements in the future.

Reference

References: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2012), Health Information Privacy, Washington DC: Author, retrieved on April 26, 2012, from about.com://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

Sage, B (2012). HIPAA Law and Regulations retrieved on April 18, 2012 from http://personalinsure.about.com/od/health/a/aa041806a.htm

Schardt, C 2011, J Med Libr Assoc. 2011 Health Information Literacy meets evidence-based practice retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016648/